MWS facilities, and applying for a managed webserver

The Computing Service provides and maintains the hardware and software for the server, and controls access to the service through the user database. The underlying operating system is Unix and the web server software used is Apache 2.x. There are currently no quotas, but if a web site gets larger than 1Gb we would recommend that you think about your own server. The MWS is backed up on a nightly basis.

Each institution will have its own web server, running on its own virtual machine. A site on the MWS can be transferred to a server managed by the institution should this become desirable at a later date. Existing web sites can also be transferred to the MWS if required. The host name of a web site for a Cambridge institution with the DNS domain foo will typically be www.foo.cam.ac.uk. Sites that have a non cam.ac.uk domain will be, for example, www.foo.org.uk.

Facilities

Provided on all servers

• authentication using Raven
• cgi (scripts should be placed in /site/cgi-bin)
• perl (but not mod-perl)
• Server Side Includes
• Analog for monitoring access to the server
• cron (all cron jobs are run as a special user - further information is available
• login access by ssh
• file transfer by scp or sftp (preferred), or ftp (deprecated, and likely to be disabled at some point)
• c compiler
• editors: vi, emacs, pico

Provided on a per-site basis

Webmasters may request one or more of these be enabled by mailing mws-support@ucs.cam.ac.uk:-

• PHP - see the notes on PHP on the MWS.
• MySQL - see the notes on MySQL on the MWS.
• The MWS also supports virtual hosting and site aliasing.

Not provided:

• Content Management System (and similar applications) - sites may install these if they require but they are entirely responsible for intallation, secure configuration and timely updating of the software; sites that are compromised will be disabled until managers have dealt with the underlying problem
• file transfer by WebDAV
• scripting of personal web pages.

Data retention

We will remove remove from primary storage and backups:-

• all the data associated with Managed Web Sites when they have been cancelled for 15 months or longer.
• user home directories, 15 months after the user account has been cancelled on the MWS (cancellation will happen when they no longer have access to any MWS site).

Help

The Service Desk does not provide administrative support for the use of the MWS; problems should be referred to mws-support@ucs.cam.ac.uk in the first instance. The Service Desk (service-desk@ucs.cam.ac.uk) will provide technical support for the data on the servers in the usual way, but the Computing Service can not offer any assistance with writing web pages, other than the usual range of 'first-aid' advice, leaflets and courses.

Applying for a managed web server

Before you apply:

The introductory page about the Managed Web Service outlines eligibility.

Domain name

You will need to apply for a domain name unless you already have one. Note that if you are applying for a website for a subdomain in a department, e.g. www.moowaddle.foo.cam.ac.uk, you do not need to apply for a separate domain name. If you need to apply for a domain name you should send email to institution-strategy@ucs.cam.ac.uk. You will be asked to suggest a name, but you should be aware that your first suggestion may not be accepted. Domain names cannot easily be changed once issued. Please note that it takes about three weeks for a domain name to be issued. A form will be sent to the institution; this will need to be signed by the Head of the institution.

webmaster email address

You will need to establish a working email address for webmaster. The address must not be a personal email address; it must be a role address in a suitable domain.

The default is webmaster@domain but this is not compulsory. The address may be in a standard mail domain if one exists, or sites may use the Computing Service managed mail domain service, the mailing lists system or a hermes shared mailbox. MWS site managers who choose to use a managed mail domain or the mailing lists system will also be able to provide other role addresses for use with their site. If you need to apply for a managed mail domain you can do this using the online application form.

It is essential that mail to the webmaster address is dealt with in an appropriate and professional manner, and that there is adequate cover to deal with webmaster mail and problems with the web site during holidays, illness etc.. The Computing Service uses this address to contact site managers, sometimes in an emergency.

Note that the default error page on a Managed Web Service site includes a mailto: link that uses the webmaster address. It will also be the return email address for mail sent from the site (e.g. by contact forms). If you do not have a working webmaster address then this will lead to embarrassing mail rejection when people attempt to contact you.

Site managers

You will need to decide who are to be the managers of the web site. The managers will be able to authorise the addition and removal of other managers or users by completing a further online application form. The managers are ultimately responsible for the content of the site. It is normal for all users of the site to be managers.

Site managers should have some basic Unix knowledge as they may have to login to the server in order to perform some management actions. Anyone who is purely a user of the web server will have no management responsibilities and may simply move files to the server by scp, rcp or ftp if they prefer.

Further details about the responsibilities of site managers may be found in the section about website management

Applying

When all the points above are in place, you should complete the online application form.

Once the completed form has been received the Computing Service will set up the web server. This includes giving the manager, and anyone else who is to work on the server, an account on the server. As soon as your site is set up you will be able to view the home page by pointing a web browser at your site; you will see an introductory page.

Last updated: October 2011